Chiesa scores his first Premier League goal as Liverpool win it late despite Semenyo's heroics

Federico Chiesa broke the deadlock right at the end for Liverpool. (Image credits - FMT, License Details)

Defending champions Liverpool survived a scare in a dramatic opening day match of the Premier League against Bournemouth, managing to grab all three points right at the end by winning 4-2. It was the Reds' first PL game since the tragic demise of Diogo Jota and Andre Silva, as the emotions ran high at Anfield.

The game began with both teams progressing well and testing each other's vulnerable defence, with both sides registering 13 combined shots in the first 45 minutes. However, the headline-grabbing moment of the first period was Hugo Ekitike's sublime goal on his league debut, which was followed up with a classy celebration and gesture to honour the late Diogo Jota.

Liverpool further tightened their grip on the match right at the start of the second half, with Ekitike grabbing an assist from Cody Gakpo's marksman finish.

It was beginning to look like yet another comfortable win over the Cherries for the reigning champions before Antoine Semenyo took off. Within a span of just 12 minutes, the Englishman grabbed an electrifying brace to stun Anfield and bring his side back on level terms.

Liverpool's opening party was just minutes away from being completely spoilt, but Federico Chiesa had different plans. The forgotten star came off the bench to be the hero by scoring a superb volley to restore the Reds' lead in the dying moments of the game, not long before Mohamed Salah put the cherry on top of the cake and kept his opening day goal-scoring record intact.

Liverpool's leaky defence is starting to look like a serious problem for Arne Slot

While the addition of Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike has evidently made Liverpool's attack much more sublime, their defensive vulnerabilities could have well and truly handed them an embarrassing victory in the opening match of the new campaign.

Accumulating 10 shots in total, with 6 of them being on target, the Premier League champions have Alisson to thank yet again, who made 6 crucial saves to prevent the Cherries from snatching the lead.

The new full-back duo, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez, would have surely hoped for a much better Premier League debut for the Reds, as they had to be subbed off even before the hour mark by Arne Slot.

The full-back pair appeared weak in one-on-one situations, often allowing their respective marks to go past them and move towards the box while even failing to block crosses on a consistent basis. Their attacking involvement was also negligible, with only the duo managing just a total of 2 crosses inside the opposition box.

One might still cut some slack for the debutants, but there is no hiding for the centre-back pair of Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate, who allowed way too much space in between them, in the middle, on many occasions, just like they did against Crystal Palace in the Community Shield. Antoine Semenyo's second goal was also a consequence of this error.

Liverpool's previous two defensive performances have clearly highlighted the importance and cruciality of Ryan Gravenberch, who remains the key element in the Reds' defensive strength.

While the club is aiming for reinforcements, having signed Giovanni Leoni and aiming to secure a deal for Marc Guehi, it would be interesting to see how the mighty Reds reconfigure their defence to face Newcastle United away from home.

VAR controversy at it again: Were Liverpool denied a clear goal-scoring opportunity?

Another eye-grabbing moment of the game came within the first 40 minutes of the game, where Bournemouth's centre-back Marcos Senesi was seen making a deliberate attempt to handle the ball after losing control of an aerial ball that came right at him.

Senesi's misjudgement of the ball could have easily allowed Hugo Ekitike to go through on goal, with acres of space ahead of him and with only the goalkeeper in sight. However, in a bizarre moment, the Argentine defender tried to grab the ball with his right hand.

Marcos Senesi's controversial moment last night.

It appeared as if the centre-back had clearly made contact with the ball with his fingertips, which also deflected the pass away from Ekitike and denied him the opportunity to run through on goal. While we could not surely see whether the touch was made or not, the ball changing its path pretty much clarifies the incident.

However, the on-field decision made by referee Anthony Taylor was to somehow award a free kick to Bournemouth instead and to take no action against Senesi. The VAR assistant Michael Oliver also backed Taylor's decision and declared that the Bournemouth defender was cleared of any charge.

The Premier League Match Centre later released an official statement to explain why such a decision was made, stating, "The referee's call of no red card to Senesi was checked and confirmed by VAR, with the action deemed not to be a clear handball offence nor denial of a goal-scoring opportunity (DOGSO), due to the distance from goal." (sic)

Well, we surely don't agree with the justification and believe that there was clear contact made on the ball by Marcos Senesi, which denied the chance for Hugo Ekitike to run through and potentially even grab a goal.